Bringing It All Together

The world of surveillance technology is an expansive one. Of course one can’t hear the word surveillance without thinking of Orwell’s masterpiece 1984. After doing all this research and blog posting I have come to feel that surveillance technology is a double-edged sword. One side protects, while the other side has a tendency to incite fear and be abused.

With the creation of surveillance networks like the ones established in the Peoples Republic of China, or in the city of Chicago provide safety and also insecurity. The fear of a “big brother” type of situation with the government always seeming to be breathing down you neck and oppressing you is well founded. The monitoring of streets for crime, accidents, fires, etc… can help in keeping the majority of citizens safer. With the government already monitoring our calls, texts, and emails we can’t really expect to not be watched. This is the price of our information age, privacy is one thing that the government has deemed necessary to sacrifice in order to help maintain order. Is this good or bad? Only time will tell.

The use of UAV technology is also a dual edged sword. On the one hand they can be used to eliminate suspected hostile targets, maintain surveillance on suspicious areas, and do so without losing lives. UAVs can also monitor forest fires, do experiments for NASA and secure/patrol our borders. However they also can harm civilians, make neighboring nations uncomfortable, and further add to the fears of a 1984 type world.

All things considered surveillance technology has great potential for good, and for abuse. The ultimate decision lies in the hands of those who control both the development, and application of this form of technology in our modern society. Hopefully we have placed our trust in the right hands and surveillance technology won’t grow into an uncontrollable monster which towers over us in our everyday lives.

They Know Your Face

The degree to which we find ourselves under the surveillance of the government in this day and age is quite different from the past. With the creation of surveillance networks and electronic surveillance there is not much that goes unseen in our nation. Many watch the growing of surveillance networks and the corresponding technology with great interest, and even greater concern.

One of the major concerns is the use of facial recognition technology. This technology uses a wide variety of techniques to scan a persons face and recognize it.
-one technique involves the use of algorithms which extract landmarks or feature from a photograph of the subjects face
-another system uses galleries of photographs which have only compressed face data which contains only the data necessary for face detection. After which a probe image is compared to the facial data

An infrared illuminator. This component provides a day-like environment for the surveillance cameras in a facial recognition system from Switzerland.










The complete Swiss facial recognition system.











Facial recognition surveillance systems works in the same function as other biometric systems like fingerprint and iris scanners. Facial recognition has a few positive aspects and negative aspects which set it apart from the other systems. The positive aspects include the rapid ability to scan multiple individuals and the fact that individual does not have to have knowledge that he/she is being scanned (i.e. to catch criminals or terrorists by surprise). The cons involved with this system are the inaccuracy of the software, the fact that it can be used without consent, and the systems apparent inability to read a face with a different facial expression.

The creation and use of this technology encourages both governments and the companies manufacturing the products to continue research and investment. This continued interest will continue until laws are passed or measures are taken to prevent this technology from being applied on a large scale, or in a way that infringes upon the rights of the individual.

The Death of Distance and Its relation to UAV technology

Last week I made a post on the history of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and their UAV technology. Today I will be looking at UAV technology again but in regards to the "Death of Distance" we have learned about this week in class. I will apply and demonstrate the ways in which long range communication has revolutionized the use of UAVs and surveillance technology as a whole.

The last UAV which I wrote about were the MQ-1 Predator, and the MQ-9 Reaper manufactured by GA-AIS. The UAV which I will talk about today is another american built model, but one of a somewhat different breed. The RQ-4 Global Hawk, manufactured by Northrop Grumman is an unarmed UAV intended only for the reconnaissance role in combat. Many of you will ask, why does this UAV serve the same task as the MQ-1 and 9? Especially when they have their extremely long range and endurance? The answer is simple, the MQ-4 takes the lessons learned from those aircraft in their use in combat, and is simply better in the pure recon role, as opposed the the hunter/killer role the other UAVs play.

In order to truly understand this difference we must look at the UAVs themselves.

On the top is the RQ-4, and below it is the MQ-9. The ground crewman serve to aid in the judging of scale.
The difference in powerplant is very noticable, with the RQ-4 being jet powered, and the MQ-9 being propeller driven. In addition the RQ-4 has a overall length of 44ft 5in, wingspan of 116ft 2 in, and a height of 15ft 2in; compared to the MQ-9's 36 ft, 66 ft and 12.5 ft respectively.

The difference in size however is not the only thing which causes the RQ-4 to stand out. In operations the RQ-4, aka Global Hawk, flies at an average altitude of 65,000 feet. To put this into perspective a commercial jet flies at around 30,000 feet, and the MQ-9 flies at about 25,000 feet. In addition to the high altitude from which this aircraft operates at, it can fly up to 15,525 miles, over half way around the globe, in one flight without refueling. During a one day period the RQ-4 can survey up to 40,000 square miles, roughly about the size of Kentucky. The operational duration and endurance of the Global Hawk is also greater than the RQ-9's by 8 hours, while retaining a higher top speed and altitude.

How does this UAV play into our "death of distance"? The RQ-4 can fly across half of the globe in a single flight, and it must be in constant contact with it's base. This poses a problem as radio, and other communication signals travel in a straight line while our earth is round... The solution for this is to use communication satellites to relay signals to the aircraft so it is never out of contact with its pilot. The use of satellites allows the controller to potentially be on the other side of the world, with a UAV flying a mission over Iraq while being controlled from a base in the United States. In addition while the aircraft is being controlled from halfway around the globe it is constantly streaming back live footage of what it is seeing, literally putting commanders in view of their front lines or even behind enemy lines from thousands of miles away. Effectively cutting the distance between the commanders and their troops operating in the field.

An additional photo of the RQ-4 for perspective

This is a video which provides additional information on the RQ-4 Global Hawk

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

Today's post will focus on General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and their line of unmanned aerial vehicles. Before you jump to any conclusions about nuclear powered aircraft or some such nonsense the company's name comes from its history. In order to explore GA-ASI and their latest additions to the world of surveillance technology we must first look back into its history.

General Atomics came into being in 1955 as the general atomic division of General Dynamics. It was founded "for the purpose of harnessing the power of nuclear technologies for the benefit of mankind." This creation of an entirely new division is an excellent example of Sloanism, albeit some 30 or so years after the term was coined, with the atomic division being founded following the advent of new technology. General Atomics was, and still is headquartered in San Diego, CA. The company rapidly grew. Its initial projects included the development of the TRIGA nuclear reactor, and Project Orion. The former is a nuclear reactor designed for use by universities for graduate and undergraduate education, the latter was a nuclear driven spacecraft which never got past the experimental phase.
An example of the TRIGA reactor

Gulf Oil Acquired General Atomics in 1967, and in 1973 Royal Dutch Shell became a 50% shareholder in the company. In 1982 Gulf Oil bought out its partner and following Gulf Oil's merger in 1984 with Chevron, and Chevron gained control of the company.

In 1986 Neal and Linden Blue purchased the company and it was given its current name, General Atomics. In 1992 former US Navy Rear Admiral Thomas J. Cassidy Jr. formed General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, with the purpose of developing UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) which could be controlled from longer distances and transmit pictures in real time. This is another example of the Sloanist expansion of GA-ASI.

It was at this time that GA-ASI developed its first UAVs, beginning with the GNAT-750, and continuing with the MQ-1, and the MQ-9. These UAVs were developed for longer endurance in the air and because of this they could loiter over a target area for hours.

This is an example of the MQ/RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. This UAV has the capability of flying 400 nautical miles from its base to a target, remaining in position over its target for up to 14 hours, and then returning to base, giving it far greater endurance than any manned aircraft, and any previous types of UAVs.




These drones, along with the MQ-9 Reaper (a larger, more advanced version developed from the MQ-1) have been deployed to the Balkans, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan and Iraq and are used by the USAF in surveillance and combat roles. These roles include the patrolling and monitoring of potential targets, the targeting and tailing of enemy soldiers, the laser designation of targets for missiles from the drone or other aircraft, the elimination of hostile targets, and" surveillance of neighborhoods and other potential "hot spots" in conjunction with other UAVs.

In addition to the roles prescribed to them by the USAF the drones are also used by civilian agencies. The CIA and the Department of Homeland Security use them for surveillance overseas and back home in the United States. The US Customs and Border Protection Agency operates six RQ-9 drones for use patrolling the border. These drones have led to the capture of sizable amounts of drugs and have prevented much smuggling activity along the border.

A US customs RQ-9 Predator. It is equipped with both infared cameras and LYNX synthetic aperture radar, a system which allows the UAV to provide surveillance through clouds, dust, haze and other obstructions to conventional cameras.






The story of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is an interesting one which culminates in the creation of some of the best aerial surveillance technology to date.

The Commercialization of Surveillance Technology

As the use of surveillance technology has grown its market and users have expanded as well. This includes the installation and monitoring of surveillance networks, and the increase in commercial surveillance.

With many countries and even cities augmenting their surveillance programs and expanding them there are many opportunities for companies to profit. These companies have adapted to and expanded their own markets by embracing the surveillance market. China's golden shield project, a system of millions of surveillance cameras in china, is an example of the growth of this surveillance industry. China has employed companies like IBM, General Electric, and Honeywell to create a state of the art security/surveillance network which utilizes facial recognition software which will eventually include the faces of everyone in China. Another example would be the city of Chicago's virtual shield program. This program, using grants from the department of homeland security, created the most extensive video surveillance network in the United States. This network will continue to be added to and eventually, by 2016, the mayor predicts there will be a camera on every corner.

In addition to the expansion of the conventional surveillance industry in recent years, another form of industry has been growing. The use of commercial surveillance has become more, and more widespread in the last few years. Commercial surveillance is the monitoring of a group, or groups of people by a company for another company. This technology has grown in accordance with the new model for companies which involves increased research and awareness of consumer needs. One of the major proprietors of this industry is Google. Google uses both it's search engine, and the emails of people using gmail accounts in order to monitor the search habits, and activities of the people using it. Google also uses internet cookies to monitor the web surfing habits of those who click on and use Google. Google then gathers up this accumulated data and creates it's own ad campaigns and sells the data to other companies.

Our world is growing and so too are the areas and ways in which people are monitored. The main driving force behind these expansions are the companies of the world. I feel that the increased surveillance is both good and bad. Good in its potential for public safety, and effective market research. Bad in the Orwellian thoughts it conjures up, and for good reason. At this time however the costs seem small and the benefits big, os until that changes I will continue to support its use and implementation.

Surveillance Via Phones

In our world many people object to the government monitoring calls, reading our texts, etc. Much of this controversy surrounds the NSA, CIA and other various agencies warrant-less surveillance of telephone calls to, from, or by any individuals deemed suspicious or a threat. Personally I don't mind if someone listens in on my calls because, I believe that the government will do the right thing and is only implementing this to protect us from outside threats.

Many assume that when the government monitors phone calls that there is a person actively listening in on those calls, some shady government worker lurking in the shadows listening to your calls to your loved ones. This is not the case. The majority of phone call monitoring done by the government is done by computers. These computers use software which converts words into text and processes the calls in this way. The government then uses programs to search these transcripts for certain key words or hot words, then based upon the amount of key words used in the call a human agent may or may not be used for further investigation. This is done with mobile phones more often than with land lines because it is easier to track the location of the person with the mobile phone using triangulation techniques. This however has created controversy in the united states.

Although many feel that this breaches our rights as US Citizens and that the government has no right to do this, I still chose to believe that the end justifies the means. If the government has a better chance of stopping a terrorist attack and saving innocent lives, then the end justifies the means.

Introduction

Surveillance technology… the term has the connotations of big brother and of James Bond. This particular brand of technology has changed our world in many ways and still does. In the present day there are numerous ways in which a person, group of people, or organization can be observed. Surveillance can be done by a computer program innocuously installed upon a person’s computer, by an unmanned aerial vehicle circling in the sky above a target, or even from the calls you make on your cellular phone. I intend to study this technology and it’s application as I feel that it is both interesting and important to our world today. It’s use or abuse can have major negative and positive consequences and it must be handled with care and respect.